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Obama on cutting costs
The Obama administration continues to say the right things about controlling costs in higher education. In a recent conference call with student journalists, the President discussed the need for colleges to be accountable and transparent in how tuition is spent, the need to remind faculty that teaching is their primary job, and the need for college administrators to make hard choices:
Frankly, I think students as consumers, parents as consumers, and state legislators and governors are going to need to put more pressure on universities. And I'll just give one example, which people may not want to hear, but when I go to some colleges and universities, public colleges and universities, and I look at the athletic facilities that exist these days, or the food courts or the other things that have to do with the quality of life at universities, it's sure a lot nicer than it was when I was going to college. Somebody has to pay for that.We couldn't have said it any better ourselves.And part of what I think we've got to examine is are we designing our universities in a way that focuses on the primary thing, which is education. You're not going to a university to join a spa; you're going there to learn so that you can have a fulfilling career. And if all the amenities of a public university start jacking up the cost of tuition significantly, that's a problem.
Cutting the cost of college is one of ACTA's primary missions, and we have recently published and distributed "Cutting Costs: A Trustee's Guide to Tough Economic Times," which is full of ideas and case studies for trustees looking to act on the President's goal of making college more affordable for all students.
Posted by Eric Markley on September 30, 2010 at September 30, 2010 10:01 AM
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